SALINAS – Authorities had few leads on his whereabouts, but he helped them out in the end. The murder suspect released from jail by mistake last week turned himself in Monday afternoon, said Cmdr. John Thornburg, a sheriff’s office spokesman.

Antonio Miranda Martinez, 36, walked out of jail Thursday — just a few hours after a court appearance — and was back in jail by 3 p.m. Monday. He was let out by mistake because of a paperwork error.

“He came back and was standing at the main lobby of the jail,” Thornburg said.

Thornburg said a possible reason for his return is that he knew he was wanted. Investigators had few leads on his location, but his mugshot was distributed to media outlets and border patrol authorities to help find him.

Assistant Chief District Attorney Berkley Brannon said Martinez was released because of a paperwork error. A charge against Martinez was dismissed and refiled on Thursday morning, which led to the snafu.

“The clerk processed it and read it with no reason to believe the paperwork was falsified (or wrong),” Thornburg said.

Martinez’s pending trial is set to be rescheduled. He is accused of killing Juan Carlos Pedraza, 47, in March.

At the time of Martinez’s accidental release, his bail had been set at $1.5 million.

Martinez will be jailed under the same terms prior to his release, which means he will be lodged in a maximum security cell.